Sunna Gunnlaugs: Long Pair Bond

Rating: ★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Scott McLemore (d)
Porgrimur Jónsson (b)
Sunna Gunnlaugs (p)

Label:

Sunny Sky Records

May/2012

Catalogue Number:

728

RecordDate:

Rec. date not stated

This is Sunna Gunnlaugs’ first trio album in 13 years, and here she is accompanied by Porgrimur Jónsson on bass and her husband Scott McLemore on drums, who is pleasingly less equivocal on this album in a way that suits the disposition of the group. Performing six of her own originals, three pieces by her husband and one by Jónsson, Gunnlaugs shows she is a good pianist, whose admirably stoic lyricism has earned her a lot of friends. The problem is that there are a lot of good pianists in jazz today, the best of whom are able to render a little more depth and intensity in their playing. For example, the title track and a piece such as ‘Autumnalia’ might well have benefited from a little more gravitas. Music making is a pleasure for her, but this can result in more notes than necessary and making some elements of her improvisations appear a cheerful sequence of notes rather than the kind of profound experience that makes you want to return to a performance again and again.

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